New government sees George Osborne replaced as chancellor

New Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed George Osborne from the role of chancellor of the exchequer, perhaps signalling a new political era for buy to let.;

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced the appointment of a new chancellor of the exchequer.

Following her succession to the role of prime minster on Wednesday 13 July, Mrs May began forming her new government. She has already named six cabinet members, including Chancellor Philip Hammond, who replaces George Osborne.

Mr Hammond had served as foreign secretary between 2014 and 2016.

The chancellor is already setting himself apart from his predecessor

Mr Hammond’s first move as chancellor was to rule out an emergency budget. This sets him apart from his predecessor, who had warned prior to the EU referendum that there would need to be a crisis budget if the UK voted to leave the EU.

Known as a cautious politician who rarely makes headlines, Mr Hammond said:

“The prime minister made clear we will do an autumn statement in the usual way—in the autumn—and we will look carefully over the summer at the situation.

“I’m seeing the governor of the Bank of England this morning and we will take stock.”

It is possible that the new chancellor may accede to these calls. But as a landlord, he may wish to avoid passing measures that benefit himself. And with the large task ahead of him, it may be that Mr Hammond’s attention is elsewhere in the coming months.

The UK is on course towards Brexit

The new government includes two new positions: the Secretary of State for International Trade and the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU.

The positions, held by Eurosceptics Liam Fox and David Davis, demonstrate the prime minister’s commitment to leaving the EU. But she also stated that the UK needs “time to prepare” for the negotiations.

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